Month: September 2022

Feeding her spirit

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On Manjula’s death anniversary in March and at this time of year we especially remember MAnjula and feed her spirit. Others will remember their own relatives.

It’s the equivalent of All Hallows’ or the Mexican Day of the Dead. Here’s a bit about the Hindu version.

Close friends who could fit it in amongst their own rituals helped by preparing food and joining the puja.

Vasanth and his family and Satish together with Sowbaghya made all the preparations: the food and puja.

We were also entertained by Manjula’s videos.

Then waited outside to give her time and space to enter the house and feed.

Making plenty of noise as we re-entered so she could quietly retreat.

Only then could we eat with our Special guests Ina, Rhadika and Kaveri.

Then it was time to relax and remember, sharing Manjula’s trademark happiness.

Manjula’s Library

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Somewhere to stop, read, reflect and remember.

The opportunities are not only in the library itself, but every space in and around our house offers a place for quiet reflection or when it’s not so quiet, meeting old and making new friends.

Join our family, including the birds attracted to the greenery bursting from our house, our pets… Lucie, billet-doux and

…. our garden.

Originally in pots on our roof, it’s now shifted to the park opposite with granite benches or hammocks available from the house.

Please come and enjoy.

Have we got it right? As in this article on how to nurture a personal library, “according to Cicero, if you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need.”

King Charles

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A meeting with who was then the Prince of Wales and now the new king but who is that between them? 🤔

Yes it is me on the right. Probably in the year 2000

I used to work for one of his charities. On his suggestion the CEO asked me to organise Prince’s Seeing Is Believing Events in India.

First time outside the U.K. they were designed to help directors consider how they might be more responsible as businesses, usually by developing community partnerships.

I organised them in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore with many MNCs taking part.

They were followed by workshops on corporate responsibility (CSR) and leadership programmes in India and the U.K.

But back to that photograph. It’s from when I first met him at one of our events, of Business in the Community, the charity where I was a campaign director and he was president .

There was another photo circulated amongst colleagues to invite them to make jokey comments.

In the other photo there was the arm of the CEO which looked as if she was about to pull him away from me.

The man in the background?

Obviously security ready to pounce.

Factoid

More on Business in the Community.

Prince’s Seeing is Believing Programme.

Manjula’s Mysore

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In Memory of Manjula, Satish and Tanuja have launched our new business.

It’s same but different….

…as it will continue to provide services to help people visiting Mysore, have a great time, through Mysore Bed and Breakfast and MyCycle Tours.

We’ll also commemorate Manjula through her gifts and now with the added extra of working with young people, to help them grow, develop and thrive..

….

Most recently we celebrated Manjula’s birth anniversary with an eventful day for visually impaired young women. Here’s our press release

We’ve helped with a young man’s education and plan to do more of that next year by supporting a young girl

We’ve also:

  • sponsored meals at an ashram for older people
  • sited benches in two parks in Mysore
  • taken our team on holiday to the beach in Kerala
  • provided almost 50 cycles as gifts to individuals and organisations
Satish helping out at our eventful day for forty visually impaired young women.

Manjula’s Mysore was our domain on the internet but we’ve now gone one step further and named the new company after the woman who made it all possible.

Manjula’s Mysore will continue to do good, reflecting Manjula’s kindness, through partnerships of NGOs, business and with our team of community volunteers.

Teeny profile

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Our local Karnataka media showed interest in young visually impaired women cycling on the fun day organised by Manjula’s Mysore.

Prajavani

Prajavani on the left, Kannada Prabha on the right.

Kannada Prabha

This is important recognition for our young team who gave a great opportunity to the young women and returned two weeks later to give rides to the young women who missed out.

Here’s our press release and announcement about ManjulasMysore

The origin of origins

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E P Thompson (English social historian) reckoned you could find examples of any thoughts, philosophies, beliefs, ways of organising that exists, here in India. It’s like it represents an open book on the world I agree and so much more is true.

Where do you think monty pythons ground breaking comedy came from? I’m forever re-visiting their skits…. nudge-nudge, wink-wink, (meeting with the FRRO), bicycle repair man by the roadside, haggling and ‘look on the bright side’ in ‘Life of Brian’ there is so much that

Manana, think it’s from Spain, south or Central America, then think again.

Catch 22, novel about Vietnam, or maybe the vagaries of Kafkaesque bureaucracy. It’s all here.

They all resonate with, yes you’ve guessed it. The consistently inconsistent mish mash, the wonderful yet infuriating India.

Bhaj to share

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In my new world I sometimes find myself in places or read things I wish I could share with Manjula Vellada

So I share with you.

I’m reading about ’Kabir’ in Incarnations by Sunil Khilnani . I quote from page 90 about Bhakti and Sufi movements that “both embraced the idea of a personal relationship with God. Priests or mullahs didn’t matter, precise ritual didn’t matter; caste didn’t mattter.” which remind me of the question she once raised with me: “if God is in everyone, why do we need Temples?”

That’s my thinking MAnjula and reflects our home — where caste wasn’t recognised and we were all equal.